Discovering Kinta Valley's Natural Treasures: Gopeng Rainforest Resort

Nestled in the mighty Kampar River watershed, surrounded by fruit orchards, rubber estates, oil palm plantations and undulating, thickly forested hills with the 2032m high Gunung Brinchang as the backdrop, Kampung Ulu Geruntum is the perfect place to begin my exploration into Kinta Valley's natural wonders.

The kampung (village) is home to a small Semai Orang Asli (aborigines) community. For generations, they have been practicing a conservation-centered lifestyle towards their forest resources and always pay high respects to the rainforest's denizens. As Sumatrans started setting a sultanate in Kinta, these villagers became involved with the settlers by exchanging forest products with rice from the alluvial plains. Fast forward to present day, ecotourism became the newest activity in the village. So far, only three resorts exists in the valley. Therefore, the serenity of the valley is still maintained. I've picked Gopeng Rainforest Resort as my base to jump start my adventure.

This resort is a collection of several types of kampung houses with architectural influences from the Malay stilt houses, the Minangkabau's distinctive "bull horn" roofed houses, Orang Asli Bamboo Huts and Borneo's longhouses. All these houses are scattered across a large, neatly kept durian orchard with two meandering streams. So, I was a bit surprised with what I could find in this highly-disturbed location.

I've followed the larger of the two streams along its banks. Being a moisture-loving creature, landsnails are sure to live around this water body. My search brings me to a leaf-littered area where I came face to face with my first find.

A large operculate, Cyclophorus malayanus (Benson 1852) is named after Malaya, the former name of Peninsula Malaysia.

Excitement abound, I prodded around trying to locate more of these elusive creatures. However, a whiff of tangy, ethanol-infused smell floating in the air attracted my attention. It was a bunch of ripened wild bananas hanging on the tree above me. I picked one and peeled to reveal the cream-coloured flesh with large black seeds.

Wild bananas, Musa sp. does smell and look good but it's likely not going to taste good with those large seeds and little flesh.

I've also came across some interesting local herbs.

Costus speciosus (J.G. Koenig), known locally as Setawar Hutan is closely related to ginger.


An unusual wild ginger, Kaempferia pulchra sheds its leaves during dry spells. Its roots are used as a traditional medicine.


Molineria latifolia (Dryand.) or Lumbah Rimba is a natural sweetener used by the Orang Asli. It is common in lowland and hill forests. It's white fruits when eaten, will produce a mild-sour tinge before mellowing into an extremely sweet aftertaste.


The brilliantly red flower of Etlingera megalocheilos (Griff.) A. D. Poulsen, found in the bushes upstream.


The Blue fruits of Pandanus sp(?) commonly found in disturbed areas near forests.

The strange flower of White Spider lily Tacca integrifolia (Ker Gawl.) found in forests behind the resort.

There are plenty of fungi and mushrooms on the rotting leaves and logs too.

A common orange mushroom on leaf litter.


Fungus on a log.


The unopened Cyathus striatus Bird's Nest Fungi. When fully matured, it will produce a cup with brown egg-like peridioles in it, resembling a bird's nest, hence its name.


Calocera viscosa sprout out from wood surfaces.


The Dictyophora duplicata Maiden's veil Fungus, an uncommon bizarre fungus.


The common Lepiola sp. found in the forests behind the resort.


Cup fungus Cookeina tricholoma are sought after both by photographers and naturalists.

As I reached the narrow strip of vegetation between the stream and an asphalt road (which is the only road winding across the valley), I was in for a surprise. I flipped some decomposing twigs and leaves and there they are. Among the grits of sand and saprophyte roots are microsnails of all kinds.

Geotrochus sp. is a rather common microsnail that can also occasionally be found in home gardens.


Macrochlamys sp. grazing on algae on limestone rock. This is a semi-slug (half snail, half slug).


Cyclotus rostellatus (Pfeiffer 1851) lives around the bases of trees, amongst roots and leaf litter.


The Star of the Day- Diplommatina ventriculus (Mollendorff 1891), an uncommon and beautiful find.

Along with these are some molluscan behavoiur that are equally interesting.

Microsnails on a dead twig, its typical habitat.


The pesky Achantina fulica (Bowdich 1822) involved in a fight for the best mate.


Yellow eggs capsules of the species above deposited in loose soil.


Juvenile snails eating up a dead snail's shell for calcium needed for building its shell. This process is known as "Shell Recycling".


The world's only bio-luminescence snail, Quantula striata (Gray 1834), displaying an elaborate defense technique of blowing slime bubbles to keep the predatory tractor millipede at bay.

This location is indeed loaded with a surprising variety of molluscan species. But, what about other wildlife?

Wild Boar Sus scrofa mud puddles can be seen in the forests. This could be their foraging grounds for food.


I'm fortunate to get a glimpse of the rare Forest Monitor Lizard Varanus rudicollis. This is a juvenile.


A flying lizard Draco sp. ready to spread its "wings" , which are actually highly modified ribs, when confronted by predators.


A Tree-hole Frog Metaphrynella sp. found hiding in a hole near the stream.


A juvenile Oriental Garden Lizard Calotes versicolor sunbathing.

According to the owner of the resort, nocturnal mammals such as Samba deer, Gaur or Kambing Gurun and even Slow Loris do emerge from the forests to look for food in the vicinity after sundown. Luck wasn't on my side though, but I did found plenty of interesting insects.

Mating pair of Tiger Moth Amata huebneri under a leaf. This is a wasp-mimicking, day-flying moth.


An unidentified beetle with metallic blue and white banded elytra (outer shell).


A hairy caterpillar.


The amazing plumose (feathery) antennae of a moth.


A katydid with red spots.


A praying mantis waiting for it's quarry prey near an insect attracting light source.


The famous Rajah Brooke Birdwing Trogonoptera brookiana feeding on mineral salts.


A swallowtail Papilio demolion joined the feast too.


The majestic Atlas moth Attacus atlas, one of the largest moth in the world. I'm truly fortunate to find one!


An egg laying moth.


A green cicada are the producers of omnipresent forest "music".


An unusual moth with spiky tail that will surely give a painful punch to any unfortunate person laying their hand on it.


An unidentified insect covered in lichen to conceal it's identity to potential predators. It's habitat is on tree trunks with lichen.


A weevil beetle on the leaves of an forest understorey plant.

So, that's all for now. The next post will take you to the heart of Kinta Valley's famed limestone hills. Adventures and discoveries aplenty and of course, snails to look for. Stay tuned!

For more information on Gopeng Rainforest Resort, visit their official website:
www.gopengrainforest.com

Referrence:
Khoo Salma Nasution & Abdur-Razzaq Lubis Kinta Valley: Pioneering Malaysia's Modern Development. Perak Academy, 2005

Limestone in Johor?

A couple of weeks ago, I was browsing through a copy of "Johor Bigfoot: The Beginning of A True Story (in Chinese)" There was the mentioning of search results in Johor, about the speculation of the ape's biology and many more so-called physical evidence of footprints and hair samples typical to Bigfoot-themed books. And then, there came the mentioning of its habitat. The accompanying photographs proved so unbelievable that I was convinced the author faked the entire story out just to attract people's attention to some Malaysian folklore. The picture shows a cliff face surrounded by dense rainforest while the other, an ink-dark void with tree roots and rocks around it - a cave. A cave in Johor? A limestone cave? The description is even more intriguing. Apparently, the bigfoot researchers guided by the Orang Asli (natives) had came to a rock face and walked around it to a hidden cave in the thick rainforests of Gunung Sumalayang's peak. They have had even collected rock samples for the Geological Department of Malaysia to identify the rock type. And voila, it's limestone! Previously, it's a well established fact that the southern most limestone hill is Batu Caves in Selangor, some 370km northwest of Gunung Sumalayang. (Now you understand why I'm shocked?)I googled it up and found the scientific evidence I needed - "The Malaysian Stratigraphy (in Bahasa Malaysia) ". According to the papers, there're minor intrusions of limestone in Gunung Sumalayang. Photographs showing small stalactites and stalagmites on the cliff face backed up the findings.Now, the big question is - are there any endemic snails living there? Since it's just a minor limestone intrusion and not the huge karsts like those in Central and Northern Peninsula Malaysia, it could have only supported a small population of endemic molluscs, if any at all. But, given the amazing diversity of microsnails discovered in just some tenths of metres of limestone in Sabah, it's worth exploring this potential site, right?

Further Reading:
1.Norazhar Ngatimin and Teh G.H., 1993. Geology of the G. Sumalayang area, Johor. [abstract]. In: GSM Annual Geological Conference 93, Langkawi, Kedah, 12-13 June 1993, Warta Geologi 19(3):139.

2. STAG20022 Stratigrafi Malaysia: Stratigrafi Semenanjung Malaysia - Geologi Johor Timur, UKM.(link)

3.Menno Schilthuizen, Hsieh-Nee Chai and Tracey Elaine Kimsin,2003. Abundance and diversity of Land-snails (Mollusca: Goastropoda) on Limestone Hills of Borneo. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 2003 51(1):35-42. National University of Singapore. (link)

Panching Karsts-400 million years old geological monuments under threat

Aerial view of Panching Limestone Formation: (from top to bottom) Bukit Tenggek, Bukit Sagu, Bukit Charas, Bukit Panching. The formation is possibly the easternmost limestone karsts in Peninsula Malaysia.

Spanning about a kilometre wide is a vast wasteland of limestone boulders, pebbles and ridges partially overgrown with bushes and grass. A large, 26 metre deep lake smack right a the middle of the rocky terrain is all that is left of Bukit Panching, a 134m tall limestone outcrop overlooking it's larger sister mountain, Bukit Charas. Located 25km from Kuantan, on the East Coast of Peninsula Malaysia, these 400-million-years old karsts are part of the Panching Limestone Formation. Bukit Panching is the very first limestone outcrop in the peninsula to be wiped out of existence. Managed by the now defunct Pancing(sic) Quarry Sdn Bhd, the last outcrop was flattened in the 1990s which then led to a continued quarrying of subterreanean limestone until a 26 metre depression was made.

Bukit Panching (Google Earth year 2003 image)Seen here are pools of water collected on the southwestern area which has now became a large lake covering the 26m depression.
The destroyed Bukit Panching (foreground,lake) with Bukit Charas as its backdrop.

With that, countless endemic flora and fauna also disappeared. That includes molluscan casualty Opisthostoma (Plectostoma) sciaphilum (Benthem Jutting 1952), a microsnail that only inhabits Bukit Panching's rocky crevices. Endemic flora like Monophylla hendersonii and Emarhendia bettiania (both now restricted to Bukit Charas) also disappeared from the hill. And due to lack of research done on the hill's ecology, there might in fact be more casualties.

Bukit Charas: a 355m tall limestone massif with a forested valley in the centre, it is located several kilometres north of Bukit Panching.

To the north is Bukit Charas, an almost intact limestone hill with plenty of rare and endemic flora ie: Ardisia suffruticosa, Epithoma saxatile, Begonia ignorata, Monophylla hendersonii, Emaehendia bettiania, Tectaria cherasica, and many more. The molluscan fauna is also quite interesting, with plenty of microsnails belonging to Opisthostoma (Plectostoma) sp. , the newly described Notharinia linnei (Vermeulen, Phung and Troung 2007)and other diplommatinids. There're also unidentified Phaedusa sp. and Macrochylamys sp. . Fortunately, the presence of a Thai-Buddhist Cave Temple in its northern cliff has prevented it from being a target of limestone quarry prospectors.

The snails found in self-collected soil samples of Bukit Charas: (from left to right) Macrochylamys sp., Alycaeus cf. perakensis(?), Phaedusa sp. fragments and various microsnails.
The endemic Monophyllaea hendersonii living on limestone surface near the stairway to the Thai-Buddhist Cave Temple.
Another endemic, Emarhendia bettiania, which lives on cliff faces in the same area.

The easily identified Ardisia suffruticosa with its characteristic radiating leaves. This species is only known to occur in two localities, Sungai Tebrau,Johor and Bukit Charas, Pahang.
Tectaria cherasica, an endemic fern named after Bukit Charas (Bukit Cheras (sic.))

Not so fortunate though, for the remote Bukit Sagu and Bukit Tenggek in the North. These two hills have been quarried extensively, 50% on Bukit Sagu and 30% on Bukit Tenggek. Bukit Sagu is expected to disappear within the next 10 years with Bukit Tenggek following suit. Little molluscan research was carried out on these hills, so the known snails are limited to a few like the Bukit Sagu endemic Opisthostoma (Plectostoma) senex (Benthem Jutting 1952)see pics. here and Alycaeus carinata (Maasen 2006)see pics. here. In fact, Bukit Tenggek, the northernmost hill, has so far escaped attention of scientists. In terms of flora, the only known endemic is Bukit Sagu's Paraboea bakeri.

Bukit Sagu with the flattened northern flank and cement processing factory.

The northernmost limestone hill of the Panching Limestone Formation, Bukit Tenggek.

The Panching Karsts harbour many new-to-science flora and fauna and should be given more attention from the researchers and conservationists. Although quarrying of limestone is unavoidable as this is the only closest limestone source for the city of Kuantan and the region's infrastructure developement, sustainable use of the precious resource will ensure that the wildlife and plantlife of these special hills remain intact for years to come.

Further Reading:
1.Schilthuizen J.J. and Clements R. (2008) Tracking Land Snail Extinction From Space. TENTACLE 16:8-9 (IUCN/SSC Mollusc specialist group letter)click here
2.Soh Wuu Kuang (2006) The Flora of Bukit Charas,Conservation Malaysia Issue 2/2006,FRIM click here
3.Maasen W.J.M. (2008) A new species of the genus Notharinia Vermeulen, Phung & Truong, 2007 from Peninsular Malaysia (Mollusca, Caenogastropoda, Pupinidae),Naturalis Repository. click here
4.Amer Mohammad Ibrahim (1999) Geochemistry of Selected Upper Paleozoic Kuantan Group and Triassic Carbonaceous sediments of Pahang and South Terengganu, West Malaysia
University Malaya.